


Contemptress

by OfEndlessWonder



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-16 06:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5817052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfEndlessWonder/pseuds/OfEndlessWonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Cat hums quietly in approval, and Kara wonders how she can be so tightly wound when Cat hasn’t even touched her yet. She feels like she might explode when she finally does, her skin crackling with energy and her heart racing in her chest, so completely and utterly affected by the woman before her that she wonders if she’s only just beginning to feel what it’s truly like to be alive."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one-shot but it ended up being pretty long so I've split it into three chapters, instead. It's all pretty much written so I'll hopefully be posting part on Wednesday, and three on Friday.  
> Spoilers through to episode 1x10.

_In darkness, you're all around me_

_I know our future, I feel your body_

* * *

Kara's half-asleep when she hears the sound of a key in a lock.  

 

It's approaching midnight, and she'd had no sleep the night before, the DEO requiring her assistance late into the night, and by the time she'd gotten home there had been no point in crawling into bed when she had to be at CatCo within the hour, anyway. 

 

So she hadn't slept, and she'd been  _really_ looking forward to finishing her shift and then escaping back to her apartment to curl up with pizza and TV for the night, and she'd been halfway out the door before the sound of Cat yelling her name (well, the name that Kara answers to at work, seeing as her boss likes to distance herself from her employees by calling them the wrong name as often as possible) had her stumbling to a stop.  

 

Kara's never been able to say not to Cat (it's probably one of the reasons why she's managed to keep this job for so long, by keeping her mouth shut and not complaining even when she gets a phonecall at a stupid hour of the morning informing her that she needs to do this and that and get this ready by the time Cat gets to the office), and when the elder woman had asked if Kara could look after her son for the night she'd been so surprised that Cat actually trusted her with Carter after the fiasco that had happened last time she'd been charged with watching him that she'd agreed without hesitation. 

 

And sure, Cat had only asked her because she'd been out of other options – she had an awards show to attend, and Carter was supposed to be spending the weekend with his father, who had cancelled at the last minute – but Kara would take whatever small victories she could, when it came to Cat's trust.  

 

She'd been slouching on Cat's couch with the TV playing quietly in the background, but when she hears the door creaking open she straightens up, stretching her arms above her head and trying her best to look like she belongs there, sitting on that couch that probably cost more than her entire years wages.  

 

She'd never really been in Cat's apartment for longer than a few minutes before that evening – she'd only ever been before to pick things up and drop things off, never lingering for fear of what Cat might do if she found out, and even tonight she'd never strayed from the kitchen, living room and Carter's room (which is bigger than her entire apartment, and she's not jealous  _at all_ ).  

 

"God, I need a drink," is how Cat announces herself as her heels click on the wooden floor of the entryway, and Kara is glad that she'd set out a glass next to the brand of whisky she knows Cat prefers on the kitchen island, knowing how much Cat hates award shows that she can't escape from in a timely manner. "Next time I'm invited to one of these awful things, remind me to be ill that day."  

 

Cat kicks off her heels and pads around the side of the couch, and Kara swallows hard as she's confronted with the sight of her boss in a sinfully tight dress, the neckline revealing a generous amount of cleavage that Kara has to fight to not let her eyes take in. The image of Cat dressed like this has haunted her ever since she'd opened the door to Kara earlier that evening, and as she struggles not to ogle her boss she thinks that it isn't going to be leaving her brain anytime soon, either.  

 

"I assume my son is asleep, and nothing's happened tonight that required the intervention of Supergirl?" Kara feels a slight blush heat her cheeks at Cat's words, remembering all too easily the panic that had flooded through her when she'd realised that Carter had been on that train, a few months ago now.  

 

"Y-yes, Miss Grant." Cat's eyes are shrewd as they watch her, glass of whisky held tightly in one hand, and she wonders, not for the first time, just how effective her attempts to fool Cat into believing that she's just a normal girl had been, because sometimes she still looks at Kara like she can see straight through her, and it terrifies her.  

 

(Sometimes it does something else to her, spreading warmth throughout her entire body, but she doesn’t like to focus on that too much because Cat is her  _boss_ and nothing's  _ever_ going to happen there and Kara should just concentrate on James Olsen because even if he does currently have a girlfriend he's a hell of a lot closer to her level than Cat freaking Grant).  

 

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble for you." Cat's eyes leave Kara in order to flit down the hall in the direction of Carter's room, a soft, fond expression on her face that Kara only ever sees whenever Cat talks about her son, so far away from the cool, composed and utterly indifferent way she acts at work – it's a startling difference, but Kara isn't going to complain because she looks beautiful and Christ, she is really, really fucking screwed.  

 

Her stupid crush had never used to be  _this_ bad, but Cat had finally started to soften towards her in the past couple of months, and the way Cat looked whenever she was faced with Supergirl – wondering, a little awed, and more than a little  _appreciative_  - certainly wasn't helping. Add to that the fact that she'd overheard Cat make a throwaway comment about having multiple relationships with women in her past, and the way she looked in that damn dress, and Kara's head was left spinning.  

 

"He was perfect." Carter was a good kid, and it hadn't taken long for her to coax him out of his shell. They'd spent the evening playing video games that Kara, despite her powers, had been absolutely useless at, and she had to say that it had been one of the most enjoyable nights she'd had in a long while. 

 

She didn’t get out much. 

 

Unless you counted flying around the city and fighting bad guys, but that had its downsides, sometimes, like when she got her ass handed to her as she had the night before -  _that_ was one part of the job description that she could live without.  

 

"Thank you, Kara," Cat says then, quietly, as Kara's just starting to gather up her things, shrugging back into her cardigan, but at the sound of her actual name falling from Cat Grant's mouth she freezes, blinking up at her boss in complete and utter shock. "I know this was short notice, and while I'm sure you didn't have any actual plans for a Friday night - " Kara's lips twitch, because there's almost a teasing lilt to Cat's words, "I appreciate you doing this for me. Everything you do for me." 

 

"I... it's, uh, not a problem, Miss Grant." Kara's not used to hearing such praise from Cat, fiddles absentmindedly with her glasses as she feels the weight of the elder woman's gaze on her, and she wonders just how much else Cat had had to drink tonight besides the whisky because Kara's ninety-nine percent sure that Cat wouldn’t be saying a word of this if she were completely sober. "I'll um, get out of your hair, I'm sure you're tired." She pushes herself upright and tugs her bag onto her shoulder, making to turn for the door before Cat stops her in her tracks. 

 

"Before you go, could you help me with the zipper on this godforsaken dress? Even  _I'm_ not flexible enough to be able to get out of this damn thing on my own." Kara's glad that she's not facing Cat when she speaks, because she's pretty sure there was no hiding the flash of panic that overtakes her face because Jesus Christ, there is no way she's going to be able to survive this in-tact, but there's also no way in hell she can refuse.  

 

"Um, y-yeah, I can do that." She turns to face Cat, who's already striding towards the hallway, leaving Kara staring after her.  

 

"I'm not planning on getting undressed in my living room, Kiera," Cat explains with a roll of her eyes as she pauses to check if Kara is following her. "Honestly. Come." Kara swallows,  _hard_ , before letting her bag thud to the floor and following Cat towards what she can only assume is her bedroom.  

 

It's a room she's never been inside, and she takes a deep breath to steel herself as she steps through the doorway that Cat had left open for her. It's pretty much exactly what she would've expected from Cat Grant – absolutely huge with a bed big enough for ten, probably, and a walk-in-closet bigger than her office containing more clothes than Kara's seen at most of the stores she shops in – and Kara thinks that this room is probably going to creep into her daydreams and her actual dreams because now whenever she imagines herself pushing Cat Grant onto a bed, she'll have the image of this one and not just her own. 

 

Cat's standing in-front of a large vanity table with her back to Kara, though thanks to the mirror in the centre of the vanity, she can see her face. Her hair is drawn over one shoulder, offering Kara her back, and Kara watches the way her throat bobs as she downs the remaining whisky in her glass and finds herself holding her breath as she reaches for the zipper of Cat's dress with trembling hands.  

 

"Do I make you nervous, Kiera?" Cat asks, clearly amused as she feels Kara shaking. She turns her head to one side, and Kara focuses on the jut of Cat's jaw instead of the smooth skin that's revealed to her as she draws the zipper down, choosing not to reply. 

 

She doesn’t miss the shudder that wracks Cat's body as Kara's fingertips brush against the bare skin of her back, and Kara's breath catches in her throat, eyes dropping without conscious thought and her brain nearly short-circuits as she's confronted with the black lace bra that Cat's wearing, noticing, as the zipper comes to a stop at the small of her back, that she can see a scrap of matching underwear and she promptly snaps her gaze back upwards. She makes the mistake of catching Cat's eye in the mirror and prays that Cat can't make out the look of desire in her own, can't see the way her pupils are blown or the flush on her cheeks, and she hastily steps back and looks away. 

 

Except she'd been the only thing holding Cat's dress up, and as she releases her hold the dark material falls to the floor, pooling at Cat's feet and leaving the other woman in only her underwear, and Kara is thankful that at least she’s not still wearing her heels because she’s pretty sure she’d never be able to survive  _that_ image.  

 

“I… I’m going to g-go.” She curses herself for becoming incapable of speaking like a normal person, returning to the stuttering mess she’d been the first few weeks of being Cat’s assistant (she thinks back and has no idea how she’d managed to get the job, she’d been fidgety and terrified for the entirety of her interview and she knows for a fact that Cat hadn’t expected her to last for more than a month). 

 

“Don’t want to stay for a drink?” Kara makes the mistake of glancing up when Cat speaks, mouth going dry as she takes in the sight of Cat facing her, hands on her hips and dressed in only black lace, a smirk on her face as she raises an eyebrow, and Kara thinks, from the glint in her eye, that Cat knows  _exactly_ what she’s doing to Kara and she’s revelling in it. 

 

“I should really be getting home…” She trails off, congratulating herself for her stammering. “Thank you though.”  

 

“Suit yourself,” Cat murmurs. “Thank you again, for tonight.” Kara just nods, not trusting herself to say anything else – the temptation to stay, to have a few gulps of whisky and allow liquid courage to steel her resolve enough to do something about the way she feels about Cat is too great, so instead she turns and rushes from the room, the sound of Cat’s light laughter ringing in her ears.  

 

She makes it home but she can’t sleep, crawling into bed and tossing and turning for almost two hours, her mind haunted by the memory of Cat’s body. Every time she closes her eyes she sees smooth skin, the curve of soft breasts, remembers the feeling of Cat, warm and  _perfect_ , beneath her fingertips. 

 

More than once her mind wanders as she thinks about what could have happened, if she’d mustered up the courage to feel more of Cat’s skin, if she’d run her hands down her sides and over her hips, raked her nails across her thighs and felt Cat shiver beneath her. She imagined the sounds she’d make, Kara’s name falling from her lips like a prayer (wishful thinking, maybe, but hey, it is her fantasy, after all), breathy and needy in Kara’s ear.  

 

She runs a frustrated hand through her hair with a groan, shaking her head to clear it of the sight of Cat in various compromising positions, cursing her lack of self-control. She’d been  _good_ lately, has managed to keep Cat out of her mind – probably because she’s been avoiding her whenever possible, still too shaken by the near-miss of Cat finding out her identity, convinced that she’ll slip up and Cat will pounce, triumphant – but tonight has sent her spiralling back into full-blown crush mode and she doesn’t know how to  _stop_ it.  

 

She rolls onto her back and stares up at her ceiling, knowing that any attempt to get any more rest will be futile unless she somehow manages to exhaust herself, her mind working on overdrive. So instead she clambers out of bed and makes her way to the roof of her building, changing into her supersuit and deciding that she may as well so a few circuits of the city to see if there’s anything amiss that she can assist with. 

 

She stops two muggings and an attempted murder before she decides to head home for the night, shooting through the sky too fast for the human eye to follow. She’s always been most at peace like this, flying through the night with nothing but the stars for company, the twinkling lights of the city spread out below her.  

 

She can barely keep her eyes open by the time she makes it back to her apartment, and she collapses into bed with the suit still on, falling into a fitful sleep dominated by flashes of blonde hair, brown eyes and an endless expanse of pale skin.  

 

x-x-x 

Cat Grant is trying to kill her.  

 

Of that, Kara is certain. 

 

Because ever since that night, ever since Kara had first seen that knowing glint in Cat’s eye, she’s been in a constant state of torture. Cat wears increasingly revealing things to work: a skirt that’s a couple of inches shorter than she usually deigns to wear, shirts that are a cut lower than normal, or especially see-through when she’s wearing expensive lace beneath them, and Kara has absolutely no idea how to deal with any of it. 

 

She spends an inordinately large amount of her time in a cold shower trying to chase away the heat of Cat’s eyes on her, of the tantalising glimpses of bare skin she’s exposed to throughout the day, and Kara has no idea what Cat’s endgame is here but it’s driving her  _crazy_  and she’s pretty sure that other people in the office have started to notice.  

 

Lucy is especially shrewd, settling into her new job with extreme ease and Kara’s kind of enjoying having her around to talk to throughout the day, especially with Winn still avoiding her whenever physically possible, the awkwardness of their brief kiss still lingering in the air between them. 

 

She becomes less thankful for having Lucy in her life when she eyes her thoughtfully one day after Kara practically sprints from Cat’s office one morning after an excruciatingly long meeting with Lucy and her boss where, no matter how hard Kara had tried to manoeuvre herself into different positions, Cat had managed to give Kara a perfect view down the blouse she was wearing with not one, not two, but  _three_ buttons popped open. 

“Is there… is there something going on between you and Cat?” The brunette asks curiously as she corners Kara at her desk afterwards, and Kara’s cheeks flame at the question, her eyes darting to glance at Winn, who had clearly overheard judging from the way he’s gaping in their general direction with wide eyes.  

 

“What? No!” It sounds fake even to Kara’s ears, and Lucy just eyes her knowingly. “Why would you even  _say_ that?” 

 

“Maybe because you just spent the last hour desperately trying to avoid staring at her chest?” Lucy replies helpfully, and Kara hears Winn let out a choked sound and grasps ahold of the other woman’s wrist, tugging her away from Kara’s desk and down the hallway towards her office. “Hey, I totally get it though. Cat’s  _hot_.” 

 

“Could you… could you keep it  _down_?” Kara hisses, throwing a glance over her shoulder and praying that no-one’s close enough to overhear them –  _especially_ Cat. “I don’t… there’s nothing going on.”

  

“But you want there to be,” Lucy pushes, and Kara sighs, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the wall behind her because yeah, she’s definitely screwed.  

 

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” she murmurs, a little sullenly, “because there’s no way she’d ever want me back.” Supergirl, maybe, would have a chance with Cat Grant, but not Kara, never someone so… painfully ordinary.  

 

“I don’t know,” Lucy replies thoughtfully, and when Kara cracks her eyes open she sees the other woman chewing her lip in consideration. “She  _was_ practically flashing you in there. And I’ve seen the way she looks at you, sometimes, when she thinks no-one’s paying attention. You might have more of a shot than you realise.” 

 

Kara’s already shaking her head before Lucy’s finished speaking, because she’s sure that, even if what she’s saying is true, that the only reason Cat would be staring at her would be to try and figure out if Kara was who Cat thought she was.  

 

“If you get the chance you should go for it,” Lucy adds kindly, her eyes sparkling as she notices James coming down the hall towards them and Kara feels an ache settle in her chest. And it’s not because she’s jealous of them being together, because whatever lingering attraction she might have had to James has been successfully smothered by her growing feelings towards Cat, but she’s… a part of her craves having what they have, having someone who can make her light up like that. She’s had relationships in the past but they’d always been fleeting things, her fear of them finding out what she was always hanging over them until their inevitable, messy demise, and it had never bothered Kara as much as it had over the past few weeks.

 

And it’s stupid, because even if something  _does_ happen with Cat it won’t  _mean_ anything. Because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to lie to Cat about who she is, definitely not over the long term because the betrayal will only sting that much more, and Kara doesn’t know what will happen to them when Cat finds out for real.  

 

She bids Lucy and James goodbye and returns to her desk, ignoring the curious looks she can feel Winn shooting her every few seconds and she’s almost glad when Cat’s voice shatters the quiet hum of the office, yelling for her in a tone that Kara knows means she’s furious. 

 

Kara’s cautious as she tiptoes through the glass door, finding Cat sitting at her desk with her fingertips pressing into her temple, her eyes closed as she takes several deep breaths and Kara hovers nervously in-front of her, waiting for her to speak. 

 

“Get me a drink,” is the first thing she snaps and Kara leaps into action, heading to the makeshift bar Cat has hidden away in her office and mixing up a quick martini (it had been one of the first things she’d perfected upon getting this job), and setting it on Cat’s desk, pushing it towards her until Cat snatches it up and drinks the entire thing in three gulps.  

 

“Is everything alright, Miss Grant?” Cat’s eyes flutter open only to glare at her, with enough contempt that a lesser person might take a step back, but Kara’s too used to this side of Cat to even blink.  

 

“What a stupid question, Kiera,” comes the clipped reply. “I need you to watch Carter for me again tonight, if you’re able.” It’s not framed as a question, and for a brief moment Kara entertains the possibility of refusing, just to see what Cat might do. “It should only be for a few hours. I’d get a sitter, but… I know he’d be more comfortable with you.” It’s almost praise, and Kara finds her lips curving into a soft smile, all thoughts of denying her boss fleeing her mind.  

 

“I can’t see that being a problem, Miss Grant. Last minute benefit to attend?” Kara knows that it’s not Carter’s week with his Dad, and Cat loathes to miss any evenings on the weeks they spend together.  

 

“No,” Cat growls out a sigh. “I have a  _date_.” She says it with enough vehemence that Kara flinches (although that could be due to the image she conjures of Cat cuddling up to some corporate guy in a suit). 

 

“A…  _date_?” Kara’s organised every part of Cat’s schedule for as long as she’s worked here, including anything after work hours, and she’s pretty sure that she’s never been on a date in that time (with Kara knowing about it, anyway). She feels sick as she wonders if Cat’s change in attire had been to catch the attention of someone in the office, cursing her naivety for believing that it could be for  _her_.  

 

“My mother,” Cat hisses from between clenched teeth, “has apparently decided that I’ve been single for too long and is trying to set me up.” At the mention of her mother Kara takes Cat’s empty glass and quickly makes her another drink, receiving a grateful look from her boss as she sets the refilled glass on her desk.  

 

“You could just… not go?” Cat shoots her a withering glance over the rim of her glass. 

 

“I learned a long time ago that refusing my mother’s wishes is never the best course of action.” Cat lets out a long-drawn out sigh, and Kara has to agree – Cat’s mother  _terrifies_ her, and that’s only having spent just a handful of minutes with her. “No, I’ll endure it. Are you sure you don’t mind watching Carter?”  

 

“I’m sure.”  

 

“Thank you. Come over at around seven?” 

 

Kara barely manages to refrain from saying ‘it’s a date’ – instead she nods before taking her leave, praying that Cat isn’t planning on getting anywhere near as dressed up tonight as she was for the awards show a few weeks ago because Kara doesn’t know if she can handle that sight of her in another figure-hugging dress. She definitely does  _not_ need more images to add to her growing daydream collection. 

 

Not without exploding, anyway. 

x-x-x

“When did babysitter get added into your job description, anyway?” Alex asks later that evening as she takes a bite of the Chinese food she’d brought over upon hearing that her sister wouldn’t be spending the night at home. “Are you even getting paid for this?”

“Well, I did last time, so,” Kara shrugs – she’d been surprised when she’d noticed that her bank balance had risen more than usual when she’d last been paid, Cat not having mentioned a word. “But even if I didn’t I’d still do it. Carter’s a good kid.” Kara had always been nervous around children. She didn’t really know what to _do_ with them, not having been around many when she was younger – but she’d had a part-time job as a babysitter in her senior year of high school. She’d lasted about three weeks before she’d quit because it’ll be a _hell_ of a lot harder than she’d been expecting, but Carter was different, and she actually enjoyed spending time with him.

“And if National City needs a hero?”

“I’ll figure something out.” She doesn’t know _what_ , but she’ll cross that bridge when she comes to it.

“One of these days you’re going to stretch yourself too thin,” Alex begins a conversation that’s becoming all too familiar, and Kara sighs around a mouthful of spring roll, “and you’re going to slip up and Cat Grant is going to pounce on you.” Kara blushes a little at the mental image _that_ conjures up, and she hides her expression behind her glass as she takes a long sip of water. “You need to be careful around her.”

Kara knows _that_ , but it’s not in the way that Alex means. She hasn’t told her sister anything about her relationship with Cat, beyond the occasional complaint about how busy she is at work, because she knows what Alex would say – that it’s dangerous, that she should, under absolutely _no_ circumstances go there with Cat Grant – and she just… doesn’t want to hear any of it.

“I am careful around her.”

“She nearly figured you out once already,” Alex points out, and Kara’s quickly growing tired of this conversation, glances at the clock and is glad that it’s nearly time for her to leave. “Don’t give her an excuse to start doubting your identity again.”

“I _won’t_.” She hasn’t even appeared as Supergirl in-front of Cat ever since J’onn had helped her out, too terrified of saying the wrong thing , much to Cat’s distaste. She’s overheard her pestering James for a meeting with Kara’s alter-ego on more than one occasion, but there’s never been a reason for her to appear. “Call me if you need me, okay?” She says as she rises to her feet. “But try not to.”

Kara can tell that there’s more Alex wants to say but is thankful when her sister bites her tongue, packing up the leftover take-out and leaving it in Kara’s fridge whilst Kara shoves everything she’ll need for the night into her bag.

She leaves Alex on the street outside with a hug, choosing to walk the few blocks to Cat’s apartment – she stays in the city during the week but retires to a beach house that Kara’s never been lucky enough to visit at the weekends – watching the sun begin to sink in the sky.

It’s Carter, rather than Cat, who opens the door, his eyes bright as he ushers her inside, offering to take her coat and once he’s disappeared with it Kara glances up to see Cat framed in the hallway opposite watching her with a soft smile that disappears as soon as she notices Kara looking her way.

“Looks like someone has a crush.” Cat nods her head towards where Carter had disappeared, and despite the fact that Kara knows she’s referring to her son, she still blushes. “Help me decide what to wear?”

“And then come play video games with me!” Carter calls as he reappears from the cloakroom with a wide smile, and Kara agrees to both with a nod and a smile, steeling herself as she kicks off her flats and follows Cat into her bedroom.

She’s thankful for the fact that Cat’s wearing a fluffy bathrobe (though Kara’s pretty sure that it’s short enough that, should Cat bend down for any reason, Kara would be able to catch a glimpse of her underwear) this time, though her mind still flashes back to the last time she was in this room as she steps through the doorway, heat flooding through her.

There are three outfits set out on the bed, all dresses though they vary in both style and length, and Kara prays that Cat isn’t planning on modelling them for her as she beckons Kara over to stand beside her.

She stands a little closer than is maybe strictly necessary, overwhelmed for one long second by the scent of Cat’s perfume. She glances at each dress with a critical eye, imaging how Cat would look in each one – they’re all more conservative than what she’s been wearing to work lately, and much more so than the one she’d worn to the awards show and for that, Kara is grateful. A part of her doesn’t want whoever Cat’s meeting tonight to see more of her than Kara herself has, and she wonders if it’s wrong that she’s hoping so hard for this night to be a disaster.

“I like this one.” She points to the middle dress, royal blue silk, and Cat hums quietly, reaching for it and resting it over her body as she turns to eye herself critically in her full-length mirror.

“You have a good eye,” Cat comments, and Kara takes that as a dismissal, already making her way to the door. “Ah, ah, ah,” Cat calls, and Kara pauses, turning to look at Cat over her shoulder and quickly regretting it when she sees that she’s unknotted the belt holding her robe together, swallowing thickly at the sight of yet more black underwear. “I might need your help with the zipper again.”

Kara lets out a long breath as she nods, trying not to watch Cat too closely as she shrugs out of the robe fully and tugs the dress over her head. Kara steps forward without being asked when it gets caught at Cat’s shoulders, not allowing herself to think about what she’s doing as she reaches for the hem of it and pulls it down, nearly dying of embarrassment when her hands skim the sides of Cat’s breasts as she goes.

She doesn’t miss Cat’s sharp intake of breath, or the way her heartrate spikes (thank you, super hearing), and decides to push her luck just to test that she’s not actually imaging this and that Cat might actually be as affected by this as Kara herself is. She lets her fingertips drag a little down Cat’s thighs as she tugs the dress over her hips and sure enough, Kara can clearly hear the racing of her heart and the hitch in her breathing, and she’s not entirely sure what she’s supposed to _do_ with this new information and distracts herself by yanking up Cat’s zipper, instead.

“Help me with this, as well?” Cat asks as soon as Kara’s done, sounding completely composed though her fingers tremble as she reaches for the necklace she’s set out on her vanity table, and Kara can’t resist letting her fingertips brush against Cat’s as she takes it from her – their eyes catch, Cat turning her head to meet Kara’s eye over her shoulder, and they hold the gaze for a long moment before Cat blinks and looks away.

It’s Kara’s turn to tremble as she settles the thin chain around Cat’s neck, knuckles dragging across the delicate muscle of her shoulders as she positions it in the right place, the diamond pendant glittering in the low light in the room, and it takes her three attempts before she manages to fasten the damn thing. She skates her hands across the sharp lines of Cat’s collarbones when she’s done, telling herself that it’s just so that she can brush Cat’s hair aside in order to show the other woman what the necklace looks like on (when really she’ll take any excuse to run her hands across Cat’s skin because she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get this chance again).

“My, my,” Cat murmurs when Kara lets her hands drop to her side, her voice low as she turns slowly, curling her hands under the edge of her vanity as she leans back against it, looking up at Kara with her head cocked to one side, her eyes dark. “Someone’s getting confident.”

“I… I-I’m sorry, Miss Grant, I didn’t - ” She splutters, cheeks burning red and unable to look Cat in the eye, cursing her lack of self-control because she might have just ruined everything and she should really just go, right? Just leave and never look back and probably not turn up for work on Monday morning because Cat’s only going to fire her now anyway –

“Kara.” Her name cuts through the tumultuous fog of her mind, her head snapping up to meet Cat’s eyes, watching the way she drags her bottom lip between her teeth (longs to be able to take it between her own). “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

“It’s not?” Her voice is small, meeker than she intended, but Cat is looking at her like she wants to devour her and if she wants to try Kara has absolutely zero intention of stopping her.

“On the contrary,” Cat replies, her voice a slow drawl and she tips her head back a little, exposing the smooth expanse of her throat and Kara wants nothing more than to trace every inch of it with teeth and tongue, feels heat pool low in her stomach, “it could become quite… _useful_.”

Kara watches the way Cat’s eyes drop down to her mouth and wets her lips in response, sees Cat’s pupils dilate as she watches the movement of her tongue and feels her breath catch, barely even able to believe that any of this is happening – it feels like a dream (a dream that she has in fact had, many times over in the past couple of weeks), and she’s almost tempted to pinch herself to see if it’s real.

“Yeah?” She speaks almost without conscious thought, and definitely moves without thinking because she knows if she dwells on it, she’d remain rooted to the spot. Instead, she steps closer until she and Cat are almost pressed flush together, setting her hands on either side of Cat’s and bracketing the shorter woman within the confines of her arms. “Like this?”

Cat hums quietly in approval, and Kara wonders how she can be so tightly wound when Cat hasn’t even touched her yet. She feels like she might explode when she finally does, her skin crackling with energy and her heart racing in her chest, so completely and utterly affected by the woman before her that she wonders if she’s only just beginning to feel what it’s truly like to be alive.

She can feel the heat of Cat’s body, so close to her own, wants desperately to crush herself against the other woman, break herself on the waves of her desire, even as she knows that she absolutely shouldn’t be doing this, that the best thing, for the both of them, would be for her to rip herself from this temptation and to walk away.

But she can’t – she knows she doesn’t have the resolve, and maybe she never did. She’d surrender everything she has in order to kiss Cat in that moment, to give and take everything that she has and to let Cat do the same.

She’s two seconds away from ducking her head and pressing her lips against Cat’s (because she know that Cat won’t make the first move in this, not directly – the ball is firmly in Kara’s court and has been since this had started, she’s always known that but had always been too scared to act on it), when the doorbell rings, shattering the spell between them when they both flinch.

“Mom!” Carter yells from somewhere outside the bedroom, and Kara scrambles away from Cat quickly in-case he comes barrelling though the door. “Your date’s here!” Cat huffs out a frustrated sigh, and Kara feels her lip curl upwards in distaste because she’d been fooling herself, just now. Because Cat’s going to go out with some stuck up rich guy (she’s assuming, anyway, because Kara’s pretty sure that’s the only type of guy Cat’s Mom knows), not _her_ , because someone like Cat Grant wouldn’t take her assistant out to fancy dinners – the only thing that they could have would be snatched moments in a darkened room like this, and Kara shouldn’t expect anything more (shouldn’t let anything happen in the first place because she’s sure that, the second she feels Cat’s mouth moving against hers she’s going to become an addict, doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to stop).

She whirls away from Cat quickly, but the other woman catches her wrist easily ( _much_ too easily, Kara decides, blaming it on being so damn distracted), her fingertips digging hard into Kara’s skin, touch so hot that Kara feels like the imprint of her hand will be branded on her skin when she’s released, and she wonders if Cat can feel the frantic beat of Kara’s pulse beneath her fingers.

“We’ll continue this conversation later,” Cat murmurs, making it sound like both a promise and a warning, voice low and deadly and sending a bolt of heat straight to Kara’s core.

With that, she releases her hold on Kara and saunters past her to the door, making sure that Kara’s eyes are on her ass as she goes (she really _did_ pick a good dress, and she wishes that she were the only one who was going to be appreciating it tonight), pausing only to slip into a pair of heels before disappearing from the room.

She leaves Kara behind, her heart still pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribcage and her head spinning, and she can already tell that it’s going to be a really, really, _really_ long night.


	2. Chapter 2

“Wow, you _really_ suck at this,” Carter chuckles, voice filled with barely contained glee as Kara huffs, sending him a mock glare as she debates throwing her controller to the floor, having been thrashed at Mario Kart for what had to be the seventh time in a row.

“Hey, it’s not like I can practice,” Kara defends as she settles for setting her controller down on the glass coffee table that sits in front of them, stretching her arms over her head. “I don’t have any of these fancy consoles at home.”

“You should still be getting a least a _little_ better.” There’s a sparkle in his eye as he turns his head to look at her, and Kara makes a face before pushing herself upright and padding over to the kitchen.

“Want a drink?” She calls over her shoulder as she hears Carter begin another game, against the computer this time.

“No, thanks.” Kara helps herself to a bottle of water from Cat’s fridge and watches him play from over the top of the couch as she takes a long sip, shaking her head as he deftly manoeuvres himself to the front, finding the tiny frown of concentration on his face absolutely adorable.

She _has_ been pretty terrible at every single game they’d played that night, but she blames Carter’s mother for that. Her mind hasn’t stopped spinning since Cat had made her exit, leaving a flustered and wanting Kara behind, and it had taken her a good few minutes to be able to compose herself enough to be able to leave the room and face Carter.

She’d been turning the whole encounter over and over in her mind ever since – had nearly burned herself making Carter something to eat, but thankfully Carter hadn’t been watching her close enough to notice that she should have flinched away from the hot pan when her fingers brushed against it instead of pulling it towards her – and she’s half-convinced that when Cat returns she’ll have come to her senses and will promptly throw Kara out, firing her in the process.

So it’s not like she doesn’t have a lot on her mind, and she’s almost praying for Alex to call her and say that the DEO needed Supergirl’s help because she’s not entirely sure what will happen when Cat comes home and there’s a part of her that doesn’t want to find out.

“Come on,” Carter pats the space next to him on the couch as he wins the race, “we’ll play one more and then try something else.”

“I’m going to be awful at whatever it is, you do know that, right?” Kara asks even as she settles back down beside him, swapping her bottled water for the controller.

“We just haven’t found your game yet,” Carter insists, but Kara definitely disagrees. “I’ll go easy on you this time.”

“Hey, no, that’s cheating.”

“But you need all the help you can get,” Carter adds, cheekily, and Kara gasps in mock surprise.

“Oh, you are going _down_ mister.” It’s an empty threat, and they both know it, but it makes Carter grin as he starts the game, and Kara leans forward a little in her seat as though a closer proximity to the screen might make her miraculously good at this.

It doesn’t, but she’s not lagging as far behind as she usually is and that’s progress in her book, but then she hears the lock clicking behind her, much earlier than she’d been expecting Cat (she’s barely been gone two hours), and she jumps, sending her car spiralling off the side of the road as Carter laughs gleefully.

“I hate this game,” she mutters as she reappears on the track, but she’s barely concentrating as she hears the click of heels on the wooden floor, staring determinedly at the screen in-front of her instead of turning back to look at Cat and try to gauge how well her evening went.

She finishes last, of course, by quite a margin, and she hears Cat chuckle behind her as the result flashes across the screen, a victorious smile on Carter’s face as Kara pouts.

“There are probably _monkeys_ who can do better than that, Kiera,” Cat says dryly, and when Kara turns her head she sees her leaning against the back of the couch, one hand curled around the back of it and the other holding a glass of dark amber liquid, suggesting that her date hadn’t been great (Kara wonders if she should feel bad about being happy about that).

“I’d like to see _you_ do better,” she counters, watching the way Cat’s eyebrow arches with interest at the challenge.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Carter whispers, even though his Mom can hear him. “She’s gonna kick your ass.”

“Language, Carter,” Cat admonishes even as she’s coming around the side of the couch with graceful steps, making it look easy despite what have to be five inch heels. She makes a beeline for the practically non-existent space between Kara and Carter, and Kara shuffles to one side before she can sit down until she’s practically on the arm of couch. Even so, Cat still sits entirely too close for comfort, her arm pressing against Kara’s, the brush of bare flesh igniting Kara’s skin with a spark of desire that only grows at Cat deliberately crosses her legs, exposing a slit along the right thigh that Kara had failed to notice earlier. She can’t tear her eyes away from it now, though, gaze hungry as it slides the length of Cat’s leg, and from the smirk on Cat’s mouth she knows that she’s noticed the direction on Kara’s stare.

“How was your date, Mom?” Carter asks as he hands over his controller to his mother, and Cat gives a delicate shudder as she leans forward to set her glass down on the coffee table.

“Let’s all pretend that it never happened,” is all she says, lips pressed together in a hard line and Kara wonders just how awful it was, makes a mental note to ask about it later – if she can remember anything when she’s left alone again with Cat, that is. “Beating Kiera at this will improve my evening somewhat, I’m sure.”

Kara glowers at the side of Cat’s head before turning away and focusing her gaze on the screen, trying to remember all the tips that Carter had given her before deciding that she was clearly a lost cause and giving up.

She could do this, she could totally do this – except she couldn’t, because Cat was freaking _good_ at this and Kara would have never, ever in a million years imaged that Cat Grant would relax after a long day at work by playing video games with her son but she _must_ do because she, as Carter put it, kicks Kara’s ass in record time.

“Monkeys, Kiera,” Cat says to her when she finally crosses the finishing line, long after her boss. “Monkeys would do better.”

“Whatever, these games _suck_.” Cat chuckles quietly to herself as Kara relinquishes her controller to Carter, who can give Cat a much better challenge than she can. She sits and watches them fondly, trying to ignore the way that Cat’s face scrunches up as she concentrates makes her stomach feel like it’s doing backflips.

They’re playing best of five, and first two races are both won by Cat, though it was a hard-fought win, and Kara decides, as they begin the third, that Carter should get a chance, too. So she shifts on the couch, pressing closer to Cat in the guise of reaching forward for her water, knowing that her shirt’s riding up at the back and offering a glimpse of bare skin.

She knows she’s succeeded in distracting Cat when she hears Carter give a small yell of victory and Cat let out a quiet curse and grins as she sets her bottle back down and leans back, ignoring the pointed glare that Cat’s throwing her way.

It’s only fair, she thinks, considering the teasing Cat’s been giving her these past few weeks. So when Carter wins the third race and they begin the fourth she steps up her game, checking that Carter’s eyes are focused firmly on the screen before she shifts subtly, raising one of her feet and brushing it against the inside of Cat’s calf.

It has the desired effect – her breath stutters out of her in a rush, her hands tightening so hard on the controller held in them that her knuckles flash white and when Kara drags her foot a little higher Cat jerks, sending her car spinning off the side of the road, leaving Carter hooting as he cruises over the finish line.

“I gotta pee before the last one,” he announces, setting down his controller before he scampers down the hall. “You’re doing down, Mom!” Kara feels Cat shift beside her as soon as he’s disappeared from view, and draws in a sharp breath when she feels the other woman’s mouth against her ear.

“That,” Cat hisses, her breath stirring the hair that had escaped from Kara’s ponytail, hot against her skin and making Kara shudder, “was _not_ fair, and you’re going to pay for it later.” She makes it sound like a wicked promise and Kara finds herself struggling to remember how to breathe, mouth going dry and when she turns her head their lips are so close that she would only have to lean forward an inch to brush them together, can practically taste the whisky Cat had been drinking on her tongue.

The sound of pounding footsteps has Cat leaning back, but Kara can see the darkness of her eyes, filled with heat as she moves away and Kara struggles to compose herself before Carter comes careening back into the room, throwing himself back down onto the couch.

Kara doesn’t interfere in the final game, but Carter still wins, and she wonders if Cat’s still affected by her touch as Carter stretches both hands over his head and cheers, victorious and Cat shakes her head, soft smile on her mouth as she ruffles his hair gently with one hand.

“I think it’s almost bedtime for you, Carter.”

“But Mom, it’s a Friday! Can we not play another game? Maybe one that Kara can actually play?”

“I fear we’d be up all night looking for that,” Cat replies dryly, and Kara can’t even feign offense because she knows it’s true.

“Can we watch a movie then instead? I feel like Kara only just got here.” He pouts, and Kara doesn’t know how Cat can ever say no to that face, is sincerely glad that she’s not a parent because she’s pretty sure she’d completely fail at being a disciplinarian.

“And I’m sure that Kara has got better things to do tonight,” Cat says gently (Kara wonders if ‘things’ is referring to Cat herself and finds herself blushing at the thought, clearing her throat and looking away hastily before Cat catches her eye and guesses what she’s thinking).

“I, um, I can stay for a while,” she shrugs when she’s regained her composure, not wanting to overstep but also not wanting Carter to leave so soon – she hasn’t quite mentally steeled herself for what might happen when he goes to bed, for Cat either kissing her or kicking her out. “I mean, if you want me to.”

Carter looks up at his mother with pleading eyes, who rolls her eyes and lets out a small, exasperated sigh though there’s an almost fond look on her face when she replies. “Very well. Go and choose a movie, then, while I go and get changed.”

Carter throws his arms around his mother before darting away, leaving Cat shaking her head before she rises to her feet and makes her way down the hall, leaving Kara alone. Carter is soon back with a DVD clutched in his hand, sliding it into the TV before curling up on the couch beside Kara.

She’s kind of glad to have the buffer, as Cat returns wearing yoga pants and a thin white shirt, dimming the lights in the room before settling on Carter’s other side, because she’s not entirely sure she can manage to keep her hands from wandering. She’s never been especially good at sitting still for the course of a movie – she much prefers her TV marathons with her sister, who accepts the fact that she’ll fidget pretty much the entire time.

Carter’s clearly seen it many times before, his eyes darting to see Kara’s reaction at some of the more important bits and she tries to focus and react accordingly especially for him, but she’s still glad when, about halfway through, she feels his head droop onto her shoulder, smiles when she glances down and realises that he’s out cold.

“Looks like you managed to tire him out,” Cat murmurs as she brushes a few errant strands of hair away from his forehead tenderly, and the domesticity of this whole situation is not lost on Kara – curling up on the couch with her boss and her son, and she hates that there’s a pang of longing in her chest, a part of her that wants something like this in her life because for her it’s likely to only ever be a fantasy.

“It was all the winning,” Kara replies softly, watching the way Cat’s smile lights up her face. “Really takes it out of you.”

“Like you would know,” Cat teases, and Kara rolls her eyes. The other woman shifts then, taking a hold of Carter’s shoulder and shaking him gently awake. “Bed for you, Cater, come on.” He blinks up at Cat with bleary eyes before nodding, smothering a yawn behind his hand as he stands.

“G’night, Kara,” he mutters before stumbling down the hallway, Cat’s hand on his shoulder to guide him, leaving Kara alone. She stands and stretches, pads over to the huge glass windows that offer an incredible view of National City spread out below her. It’s almost as though she’s flying, barely even able to see the sidewalk, so far below them.

“There is a balcony, you know.” Kara had been so preoccupied with staring out at the world that she hadn’t noticed Cat re-emerge from Carter’s room, spins around to find her perched back on the couch watching her with an almost predatory gaze. “It’s not as impressive as the one outside my office, but it’ll do.”

“I think I prefer the view from right here,” Kara dares to say, calling on her Supergirl confidence and dragging her eyes down Cat’s body, watching closely the pleased look that flashes across Cat’s face in response.

“You can admire it from a little less far away, you know.” Kara’s feet begin to move at the invitation, bringing her close to where Cat sits, waiting expectantly. Kara feels like a nervous ball of energy, curls her hands into fists in an effort to get her hands to stop shaking, barely able to believe the turn this night has taken.

Cat’s head is tilted back, resting against the back of the couch, her hands down by her sides and loosely curled around the edge of the couch, legs crossed at the knee but as Kara approaches she shifts to set both feet on the floor, and Kara wants nothing more than to throw a knee on either side of Cat’s hips and sink into her lap, bury her fingers in hair and kiss her until she forgot every single one of her names.

She hesitates, for one brief second, before she takes that final step, though. Because she still doesn’t know what this _means_ , what Cat wants from this (what _she_ wants from this), what will happen when they wake up the morning, but Cat is looking up at her through hooded eyes and Kara wants this so much, can scarcely remember craving something the way she wants Cat in that moment.

So she swallows her doubts and bites her tongue in an effort to stem the questions that threaten to burst from her lips, because she’s sure that saying ‘um, Cat, why is this happening right now and what do you want from me?’ will definitely kill the mood and she doesn’t know if Cat will ever be willing to offer her this again, so she takes that last step, knees hitting the soft cushion of the couch before she lifts one and then the other, straddling Cat’s thighs and not missing the way the steady rhythm of Cat’s heartbeat stutters as Kara leans over her.

“Do you always do everything so insufferably slowly?” Cat mutters, ever impatient, but Kara doesn’t rise to the challenge as she settles her weight back on her heels, Cat’s body burning on either side of her legs.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” She ducks down and kisses Cat’s reply from her lips, sliding one hand through silken hair as Cat’s settle firmly at her hips. Kara’s imagined kissing Cat Grant a thousand times, but it pales to the reality as Cat’s lips part, tongue licking into Kara’s mouth and leaving a moan rumbling in Kara’s chest – she feels like she’s been drowning her entire life and has only just gotten her first breath of fresh air.

Kara closes her teeth around Cat’s bottom lip like she’s been dreaming of ever since earlier that night, and Cat’s quiet groan sends a flood of heat through her, pooling at her thighs. One of Cat’s hands rises to tangle in Kara’s hair, tilting her head to one side so that she can press her mouth to the corner of Kara’s jaw, pressing a row of heated kisses down the column of her throat.

Kara’s breathing is laboured and she’s biting her lip to quiet the moans that threaten to spill from her throat at the feeling of Cat’s teeth and tongue teasing at the pulse jumping in her neck, trying not to flex her fingers too tightly in Cat’s hair.

She tugs Cat’s mouth back up to press another hungry kiss to her lips, sucking on Cat’s tongue as Cat’s free hand inches up the inside of Kara’s shirt – she can barely breathe, feels like Cat is moving excruciatingly slowly but god, it’s worth it as Cat kneads one of her breasts through the material of her bra. Kara arches into the touch, hips shifting restlessly as Cat dips a thumb beneath the cup and teases at a nipple, her low moan echoing into Cat’s mouth.

“I think,” Cat murmurs as she pulls away, mouth pressing against Kara’s ear as she deliberately brushes against her nipple, making Kara bite down on her bottom lip, hard, “that we should move this into the bedroom, don’t you?”

Kara has to agree, because she’s not entirely sure she’s going to be able to keep herself quiet with how talented Cat’s hands are proving to be and the last thing she wants to do is wake Carter, so she shifts so that she’s standing on slightly unsteady legs, offering Cat her hand and helping her up.

Cat practically drags her down the hall, and Kara can’t resist pressing against the wall the second they’re inside her bedroom, hands finding Cat’s hips and dragging down over her ass as she wedges a thigh between Cat’s legs – Cat arches into her, nails digging sharply into the back of Kara’s neck as she drags the taller woman down for another kiss.

Cat’s hips grind against her thigh and Kara thinks that it would be so easy to lose herself in the other woman, in the hard press of her mouth and the heat of her skin, soft and smooth beneath her fingertips as she trails one hand up Cat’s stomach and over her ribs.

She’s delighted to discover that Cat isn’t wearing a bra, her fingers finding and toying with her nipple as her mouth explores the warm expanse of Cat’s neck. Cat’s hands tangle in her hair, tugging whenever Kara finds a particularly sensitive spot, breathing in quick, ragged gasps that are music to Kara’s ears.

She ducks her head as her mouth moves lower, over Cat’s collarbones and down, and she’s grateful that the shirt Cat’s wearing is so loose, allowing her to drag it away from her skin and expose one of her breasts. She’s quick to close her mouth around the nipple, grazing it with her teeth before swirling her tongue and Cat’s knees nearly buckle, a needy moan catching in the back of her throat as she tightens her hold on Kara’s hair.

Cat releases her hold only to yank at the hem of Kara’s shirt, hips still arching desperately against her thigh, and Kara groans at the heat she feels there, can’t wait to know how Cat feels, hot and wet against her fingers.

She moves away from Cat’s chest to pull her shirt over her head, and she feels her stomach flip when she sees the way Cat looks at her, eyes dark and filled with desire as she curls her hands around Kara’s hips and begins to push her slowly backwards towards the bed.

They’re almost there when Kara hears a beep in her ear and a buzzing come from the back pocket of her jeans, freezing as she curses under her breath and reaches for her phone. “No, no, no, no,” she mutters when she sees Alex’s name flashing across the screen, because she knows that there’s no way her sister would call her if she didn’t need her help with something, and Kara’s pretty sure, from the murderous look that Cat is shooting her right now, that the second she answers this phonecall whatever… this thing is that’s happening between them is going to come to an abrupt end. “I am so sorry,” she says to Cat, watching the way her eyes flash with anger as she presses her lips together, and Kara turns away from her because she’s not sure she can handle the sight of Cat Grant looking so thoroughly debauched when she she’s talking to her sister. “This had better be good,” she snaps when she answers the call, and she can practically hear Alex’s surprise radiating down the line and into her ear.

_“I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t,”_ she replies carefully, and Kara can hear the underlying curiosity, hopes that her outrageously rapid breathing isn’t noticeable through the phone. _“It’s Astra and her motley crew.”_

“Crap.”

_“Pretty much. We need you at HQ ASAP, can you get out of babysitting duty?”_

“Uh, yeah, give me like ten minutes.” She signs off without waiting for a reply, running a hand through her hair as she turns back to face Cat – who’s lying sprawled out on the bed with a hand toying dangerously at the hem of her pants. “I… I have to go.”

“I gathered that.” She wonders how unforgivable this is – judging from the way Cat’s expression has closed off so that Kara has no idea what emotion is dominating her mind right now, she’s guessing it’s pretty bad.

“I wouldn’t… it’s important. Otherwise I wouldn’t leave. I don’t _want_ to leave.” She feels like that’s an important point to stress, though Cat hums like she doesn’t quite believe her. “I could… I could come back after. I-if you wanted.” She knows it’s a dangerous offer, if Cat hears of Supergirl swooping in to save the day mere minutes after Kara had gotten a phonecall only for her to return once the danger had been averted, but Kara can still feel desire coursing through her veins, an unbearable ache between her thighs that feels like it might never go away until she gets to touch Cat again (if she’s ever _allowed_ to).

“No,” Cat replies quietly. “I don’t think that will be necessary.” Kara flinches like she’s been slapped, but she gets it – Cat Grant is not used to being refused, and she’d be pissed if their positions were reversed, so close to something she wanted so deeply. She’s seen the extent of Cat’s temper in the past and should probably be glad that at least she’s not being yelled at.

“O-okay.” Cat takes one last chance to run her eyes across Kara’s exposed chest before she turns her head pointedly away and Kara sighs, taking the hint and turning her back, scooping up her shirt on her way out the door.

She’s going to _kill_ Alex.

x-x-x

“Let me in.” Alex’s voice calls through Kara’s front door, and Kara huffs as her sister knocks for the fifth time, fist pounding angrily against the door. “I have a key, you know. I’m just being polite.” Kara sighs, moving only when she hears the rustle of Alex’s keychain, shoving herself off the couch she’s been camped out for most of the weekend and traipsing over to the front door.

It’s not fair, she knows, to be pissed at her sister, especially when she hadn’t actually done anything wrong. She’d been cautious around Kara after she’d arrived at the DEO headquarters on Friday, shrewd enough to know that something was wrong but not having the time to ask about it. Kara had slunk to her bed after dealing with the Astra situation claiming that she was tired (she hadn’t been able to sleep, though – she kept seeing flashes of Cat’s bare skin whenever she closed her eyes, hearing the echoes of her moans in her ears and she’s only a little ashamed to admit that she’d gotten herself off on the memory of how Cat had felt pressed against her, but even _that_ hadn’t helped her ease into unconsciousness).

Alex had been busy dealing with the aftermath of Astra and Co’s attack yesterday to be able to come over, but now she’s apparently sick of Kara’s attempts to avoid her, and Kara doesn’t blame her as she shuffles to her front door and pulls it open.

Alex doesn’t say anything as she steps into Kara’s apartment, armed with a bag of takeout from Kara’s favourite place and a bottle of wine, and she sets both on the kitchen counter before turning to lean her back against it, eyeing Kara curiously.

“Okay, so here’s what I know,” she begins. “You’re pissed at me, but I don’t know why. I’m going to guess, though, that it has a little something to do with me needing you on Friday night, judging from the way you answered the phone - ”

“Sorry,” Kara cuts in, a little sheepish because she hasn’t actually apologised for being a bitch yet, and Alex inclines her head towards her slightly, acknowledging the apology.

“- and the fact that you were flustered as hell when you eventually turned up.” Kara flushes, because she’d thought that the amount of cold water she’d splashed across her face after she’d gone back to her apartment to grab her suit had been enough to disguise the evidence of what she’d been up to before Alex had called. “So, spill. You weren’t _really_ babysitting, were you?” Alex asks, waggling her eyebrows a little. “What did I interrupt?”

“Nothing!” Alex sees straight through the lie, though, and just stares at her pointedly; damn her for knowing Kara so well. “Okay, _fine_. I _was_ babysitting – I wasn’t lying about that – but Cat got home a little earlier than I thought she would, so I finished early.”

“So who were you with?” Kara worries at her bottom lip, because she knows there’s no way in hell she can tell Alex that it was actually Cat. “James?”

“No! He has a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but you have the hots for him.”

“I _did_. I don’t anymore.”

“So there’s someone new?” Kara sighs and chooses not to answer, making her way over to where Alex stands and grabbing two glasses because she’s pretty sure she needs wine to make it through his conversation. “It wasn’t Winn, was it?” Alex tries next, nose wrinkling a little as she says it, and Kara rolls her eyes.

“No. He’s still too busy pretending I don’t exist.” Kara unscrews the cap on the wine and pours a generous helping into both glasses, pushing one across the counter towards her sister.

“So, someone new? Come on, Kara. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other?” Kara glares at Alex over the rim of her glass as she takes a large gulp, because that’s a low blow and Alex knows it. “Why won’t you tell me? Is it someone I know?” Kara still doesn’t answer, and Alex pouts. “It can’t be that bad, can it? It’s not like you’re boning Cat Grant behind the - ” Kara’s so surprised by the unexpected appearance of Cat’s name that her hand spasms, sending her wine glass flying – she manages to use her super speed to catch it before any of the red liquid manages to fall to her floor, but she thinks, from Alex’s wide eyes as they land on Kara’s guilty, guilty face, that the damage has already been done. “Oh my god. Oh. My. God.”

“It’s not – I’m not – _we’re_ not - ”

“Oh my god! Kara, what are you _thinking_?” Kara whirls away from Alex and stalks towards the window she occasionally steps out of if Supergirl’s needed on short notice, leaving Alex ranting behind her. “She’s Cat freaking _Grant_ , Kara! If she ever found out who you are – wait.” Kara turns her back on the city skyline when she hears Alex’s voice turn deliberating. “What if… what if this is her way of trying to find out who you are? By trying to get closer to you?”

“Oh, because the only reason she’d ever want to be with someone like me would be to get something out of it?” Kara feels like she’s been punched as she reads between the lines of Alex’s words, and at least her sister has the grace to look regretful.

“No, Kara, I didn’t mean it like - ”

“Yes, you did,” she interrupts, hands curling into fists, fury licking through her veins. “You think the only reason Cat would want me is because she’s trying to get me to trip up. That she couldn’t _possibly_ fall for Kara ordinary Danvers.”

It hurts so much because it’s something that she’s thought herself, more times than she can count, but to hear it coming from the mouth of someone else, from the person she trusts more than anyone on this earth makes it so much harder to bear.

“Kara…” Alex trails off, clearly picking her words carefully. “That’s not what I meant. You’re amazing, you know that, and anyone would be lucky to have you, I just… don’t you think the timing’s a little… off?” Kara refuses to answers, just takes a large sip of her wine in an attempt to drink her new-found self-doubt away. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried about my identity getting out, you mean.” She says it a little viciously, but Alex barely even blinks. “Clearly not worried about my feelings.”

“You know that’s not true,” Alex murmurs softly. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, I just… you’re my little sister, Kara. I gotta look out for you, and I think Cat’s bad news. For you, for Supergirl, for the DEO… she’s a ruthless journalist, she wouldn’t be where she is if she wasn’t. And I don’t know if she’d be able to let as big a story as your real identity go.”

“I trust her.” She says it with conviction, but she knows from the look that Alex throws her that she doesn’t entirely believe her. “Can’t that be enough, for now?” Alex looks like she’s about to protest, and Kara sighs, deciding to change the subject slightly. “I don’t think you need to worry, anyway. She was pissed at me for leaving Friday, I’ll be surprised if I have a job left to go back to tomorrow.”

“She can’t fire you for not sleeping with her,” Alex points out. “And if she does, I’ll kick her ass.”

“If she does, it’ll prove you wrong,” Kara points out quietly. “Because she won’t be trying to get close to me anymore.”

“She’s not gonna fire you.” Kara merely shrugs, because even if Cat doesn’t, Kara has no idea how she’s going to look her boss in the eye tomorrow when the last time they’d seen one another they’d both been half-naked. “And just so you know… I’d be happy to be proved wrong.” Kara looks up sharply at that, not expecting the words. “You deserve some happiness in your life, and if Cat makes you happy…”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Kara replies with a quiet sigh. “I can’t tell her who I really am, and I can’t keep a secret like that from someone I’m dating.”

“You really like her, huh?”

“It’s stupid.”

“Clearly not, if you nearly got lucky the other night.” Kara rolls her eyes as Alex grins, tension starting to ebb – though Kara wonders how long it’ll be before this topic’s brought up once again. “Come on, you need to get your mind off of her – let’s stuff our faces with good food, drink lots of wine and watch really bad TV.”

x-x-x

“Lucy!” Kara practically pounces on the brunette when she sees her approaching her office the next morning, making the other woman stop in her tracks and spin to face Kara, easy smile on her face. “You have a meeting with Cat first thing, right?”

“Yeah…” Lucy looks a little curious, though there’s a tiny frown of confusion between her eyebrows, too. “Why?”

“Could you do me a favour?” Lucy waits, and Kara holds out the coffee she’s got in one hand. “Give this to Cat?”

“Isn’t that usually your job?” She asks, eyeing the coffee a little warily but making no move to take it from Kara.

“Yeah, but… I’m pretty sure Cat would rather I didn’t, this morning.”

“And why’s that?” Kara huffs out a sigh, not really wanting to get into it this early in the morning (or ever). “Something happen?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” she mutters, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Could you just - ” She thrusts the coffee in Lucy’s general direction one last time. “Please?”

“Alright,” she sighs, finally taking it, and Kara flashes her a grateful smile. “Just this once.”

“Thank you.” She scampers back to her desk to work on the layouts Cat had given her Friday to be finished by her meeting later that afternoon, and as soon as she hears Cat’s private elevator rev to life she disappears down the hall under the guise of needing the bathroom.

Cowardly, yes. Necessary? Definitely. Kara’s not entirely sure what she’ll find when she and Cat come face to face, but she _is_ sure she’s not ready to face it. Not yet.

So she hides, and she only slinks back to her desk when she knows Lucy will safely be inside their boss’ office. She allows herself one glance, before she settles in her chair with her back to the glass walls within, just to try and gauge Cat’s mood, and of course she chooses the one moment where Cat raises her head and tosses her hair over her shoulder, their eyes meeting for one loaded second.

Kara’s breath catches in her throat as Cat’s eyes bore into her, paralyzed for as long as their eyes are locked, her heart beating a frantic rhythm in her chest. She remembers vividly Cat’s dark, dark eyes, flushed cheeks and ruffled a hair – a world away from the composure she shows now as she settles back in her desk chair and looks away.

Kara lets out a shaky breath as she eases herself into her own chair, earning herself a curious look from Winn, which she promptly ignores. She doesn’t need super hearing to hear Cat begin to yell behind her just a few minutes into her meeting. Lucy shoots past her and down the hall not long after that, and the day continues much in the same vein – Cat doesn’t once call Kara into her office, and in every single one of her meetings she yells for at least ninety percent of the time. Kara’s sure that at one point in the early afternoon she just starts calling people from the bullpen in there purely to shout at them, and she swears at least two people are fired.

“Whatever you did,” Lucy hisses at Kara when she emerges from Cat’s office for the second time that day, “I don’t care what it was, but you need to _fix it_.” She disappears without giving Kara a chance to reply, and Kara blinks after her for a few long moments before another of Cat’s shouts has her freezing.

“Keira!” She snatches up an Advil from one of her desk drawers before she ventures into the room she’s been avoiding, because she’s pretty sure Cat’s gonna need it. She grabs the layouts, too, setting both them and the Advil on Cat’s desk, brown eyes watching her approach carefully.

“The layouts you asked for, Miss Grant.” Cat doesn’t even spare them a glance, too busy staring Kara down, and she just stares right back even though there’s a part of her that wants to turn tail and get the _hell_ out of there.

“You’ve been avoiding me, Kiera,” she says eventually, each word sounding like it’s carefully weighted. “I’d like for you to stop that.”

“S-sorry, Miss Grant. I… I thought after the other night - ”

“I’ve forgotten that rather… unfortunate lapse in judgement, Kiera.” Kara clenches her jaw in an effort not to flinch at the cold words, though it wasn’t like she’d expected much else, and if she’s completely honest with herself, it’s probably for the best. “I’d like it if you would, too.”

“O-okay.”

“So we’re good here?”

“Y-yes, Miss Grant.”

“Good. Have everything ready for the board meeting in two hours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a happy ending, I promise!


	3. Chapter 3

After that, things return to normal.

Well, as normal as they can be after you’ve seen your boss half-naked.

Kara likes to tell herself that she’s doing a good job of forgetting that night, but she knows deep down that it’ll be branded in her memory for many years to come. Cat, true to her word, has never brought it up again, though Kara has noticed her gaze lingering on her body on more than one occasion. She never comments on it, though, just as Cat never comments when Kara’s traitorous eyes dip down to her chest or run along the length of her legs.

It’s not an ideal situation, because Kara still very, very much wants Cat Grant and would drop everything in a heartbeat if Cat gave any indication that she’d like a repeat performance, but it never comes.

Cat doesn’t ask her to watch Carter anymore (although he appears in the office, sometimes, after school and begs Kara to come over for just one night, and it breaks her heart each and every time she has to say no to him), and they’re rarely alone together. Kara doesn’t know what would happen if they were, if they’d give into the lingering tension that still simmers in the air between them when a look is exchanged for too long or when eyes start to wander, but after a few weeks she’s convinced that she’s never going to find out because Cat seems determined to avoid being left alone in the office with only Kara for company.

But one particularly difficult week she has no choice, because they’re working to an impossible deadline that means Cat has to stay behind long after the rest of her workers have retired to their homes, and Kara… Kara stays because she knows that Cat won’t get it done on her own unless she doesn’t get a wink of sleep, and a grumpy, tired Cat is not something that Kara would inflict on the office (that’s the excuse she’s using to justify it to herself, anyway).

“There. Done.” Cat’s voice is laced with exhaustion as they put the final touches to their latest issue, and she smothers a yawn behind her hand as she leans back in her chair and lets out a relieved sigh. “Thank you for your help, Kiera.” Cat’s been calling her that a lot more than usual, lately, and Kara is convinced it’s little more than a plot to keep reminding Kara that she means very little to her. “You didn’t have to stay.”

“It’s fine,” Kara shrugs, attempting to fight off a yawn of her own.

“No, it’s not.” Cat’s watching her with careful eyes, and Kara blinks under the scrutiny. They’re sat on one of the couches in Cat’s office, and until then she hadn’t quite realised how close they’d gravitated towards one another, almost near enough to touch. “You always go above and beyond for me, and I’ve yet to determine _why_.”

“Because you’re my boss,” is Kara’s automatic response.  

“I’m the boss off everyone in this office,” Cat points out, nodding towards the long-empty bullpen as she speaks her next words. “And yet none of them are here. Why do you think that is?”

“They don’t share my dedication?” She replies as a question, because she’s not entirely sure what Cat’s aiming for, here.

“Hmm. Is that all?”

“What other reason would there be?” Kara counters, deciding to play Cat at her own game. She doesn’t miss the slow smirk that spreads across her face as she leans forward slightly, and Kara is quick to move backwards.

“I think you just answered your own question,” Cat murmurs quietly, her eyes dark and far too knowing, and Kara huffs out an annoyed sigh.

“What do you _want_ from me, Cat?” She hates the pleading note that’s in her voice, the ragged edge of pain because it’s been so hard, keeping her distance even though she knew it was the right thing to do, but it had been made _easier_ by the way Cat had so steadfastly ignored whatever had happened between and yet here she was, dredging it back up again and Kara doesn’t understand _why_. “Because you tell me to forget about what happened and to never bring it up again, but I see the way you look at me sometimes,” Cat looks surprised at Kara’s nerve (and honestly, she’s a little surprised herself), just blinks at Kara slowly as she continues her tirade, the words bursting out of her now that her dam of silence has been broken, “like all you want to do is drag me home and pick up where we left off, and then you’re back to calling me the wrong name and refusing to look me in the eye and now here you are, asking stupid questions that you already know the answers to and I just want to know _why_ , Cat, what is the _point_ of - ”

She’s cut off by a pair of lips pressing against hard against her own, Cat silencing Kara’s words with her mouth, and she’s so surprised that it takes her a moment to react – Cat pulls away, looking like she’s wondering whether she’s misread the entire situation and opens her mouth but Kara doesn’t want to hear what she’s going to say, not if it’s an apology or a promise that she’ll never do that again.

No, instead she tangles a hand in Cat’s hair and drags her closer, taking Cat’s bottom lip between her own. She feels a groan reverberate against her mouth and she pulls Cat into her lap, opening her mouth for the other woman’s tongue eagerly, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

God, Kara doesn’t know how she’s lived without this. She’d thought that her memories were vivid, but they were far from it – she hadn’t captured the feeling of Cat’s tongue moving against hers, the divine noises she made, or the smoothness of her skin – and she’d been an idiot to think that mere memories would be enough, because as Cat presses her back against the back of the couch, restless hands starting to wander, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever be able to be in a room with Cat again without kissing her senseless.

This time when she hears the insistent ringing of her phone, she doesn’t stop kissing Cat to answer it. Instead she tightens her hold on her hips, arching into the hand Cat’s got at her breast, telling herself that she’ll answer it soon, soon, just not right now because she needs to get just a little _more_ of Cat before she pulls away –

“Are you ever going to stop that incessant buzzing?” Cat murmurs the words against Kara’s jaw, and she huffs as she shifts to grab the pesky thing from her pocket (honestly, the damn thing never rings when she actually _wants_ to escape somewhere), deciding that once again, she’s going to kill her sister.

“What?” Her voice is a little breathier than she intended, but unlike last time Cat shows few signs of stopping what she’s doing, teeth nipping at the side of Kara’s neck as she tilts her head to give her better access, free hand sliding into blonde hair.

_“We need you.”_

“Can it – ” She cuts herself off the avoid a moan, biting down sharply on her bottom lip when Cat sucks at her pulse point, “Can it not wait?”

_“Would I be calling you if it could?”_

“Not even like… five minutes?” She sucks in another breath as Cat’s mouth trails lower, head falling back on the couch and eyes staring up at the ceiling, breathing turning even more laboured.

 _“No, Kara it can’t – wait. Why do you sound like that?”_ Kara can’t answer because Cat’s fingers are tugging open the buttons of her blouse, clearly trying to give Kara a very, _very_ good reason to stay here and not leave. _“Are you – where are you?”_

“Um, at work.” She knows there’s no point lying because she doesn’t trust Alex not to track the GPS of her phone. “I had to stay late and - ”

 _“Oh, my god, are you doing what I_ think _you’re doing?”_ Alex sounds appalled, and Kara can’t find it in her to deny it because Cat’s mouth is slowly, slowly descending to the cup of her bra. _“Kara, detach yourself from Cat Grant right freaking_ now _and get your ass over here.”_

“But - ”

 _“Now!”_ Alex snaps before hanging up and Kara sighs as she lets her phone drop down to her side, almost pouting when Cat leans back.

“You’re about to tell me you have to leave again, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Next time we do this, you’re switching that damn thing _off_.”

Kara is made too giddy by the possibility of a next time that she can barely even be disgruntled that their time together had been cut short.

x-x-x

Except there isn’t a next time for a while.

Kara’s extra-curricular activities pick it up a notch (a part of her is almost convinced that Alex is keeping her busy on purpose to keep her away from Cat), ensuring that the few hours she doesn’t spend working at CatCo are filled with fighting crime and detaining extra-terrestrials.

Cat doesn’t bring up their second night of almost-passion, so Kara doesn’t either. Though she finds it harder and harder to concentrate, now, whenever she and Cat are together, and more than once in the past few weeks Cat has had to snap her name to get her attention in meetings, throwing her a murderous glare when no-one else is watching.

But she can’t _help_ it, not when Cat has starting dressing more revealingly yet again, managing to drive her crazy with a well-placed thigh slit or extra button undone, and it’s a miracle that she can get any work done at all, really.

She doesn’t get the chance to do anything about it, though. She’s pretty sure Cat would slap her hands away if she ever tried anything at work, and Kara’s not daring enough to find out. So she keeps her distance, and she lets Cat drive her insane, and she waits for their next opportunity to be alone together.

And when it does come, it’s in the most unexpected of ways.

She’s doing a circuit of the city one night when she hears the sound of gunfire, and she heads towards the noise without a second thought, dropping to the ground outside a restaurant in the high-end area of town, sure to be packed with the city’s elite.

Which is why, she’s sure, there are four guys attempting to rob some of the patrons within. The gunfire had merely been a warning, a smattering of bullets being directed towards the ceiling, but Kara doesn’t like the confidence with which they hold their guns, as though they know exactly how to use them.

She decides not to go for subtle, tired from yet another long night with the DEO, and chooses to just propel herself through the window, the sound of shattering glass making some people within gasp. She has two guys on the ground before they can even blink and disarms a third before he even realises what’s happening. The fourth manages to get a couple of shots at her, the ricochet of the bullets thankfully bouncing through the shattered window, shell casings falling in the street without making contact with any bodies, and Kara has the fourth guy floored before he even has time to reload.

Applause smatters around her as he falls, and she turns around to scan her eyes over the people huddled in a group behind her, checking for injures – and does a double-take when she notices a familiar flash of blonde hair.

She hopes her shock doesn’t show on her face for too long before she can blink it away and compose herself, and she itches to go over to Cat and make sure that she’s okay and hasn’t been harmed, but Supergirl should not have such an invested interest in Cat Grant, certainly shouldn’t be feeling the worry that threatens to claw its way up Kara’s throat because Cat is so fragile, so easily breakable and _human_ , and Kara doesn’t know what it would be like, to lose her.

It’s not something she’s thought of often. She’s never seen Cat in danger, not since the Livewire incident that she’d managed to get under control before any lasting damage had been done, and she’s taken aback by her visceral reaction to the thought of Cat being in danger, wonders what it means (she has a sneaking suspicion that she already _knows_ what it means but she refuses to entertain the idea of love, not with someone she sometimes feels like she barely knows, and who certainly doesn’t know _her_ ).

Normally she doesn’t wait around for the police to arrive but she does that night, telling herself that it’s just because she wants to be sure that all four of the would-be robbers are apprehended before they come to. Several people crowd around her whilst they wait, thanking her for saving them, and Kara tries to be as gracious as possible even when all the attention makes her want to crawl her way out of her skin.

She notices Cat in the background, scribbling frantically on a notepad held tightly in her hands as she talks to various patrons and Kara shakes her head wryly, knowing that Cat’s taking this opportunity to concoct her next big story.

She’s not surprised when she hears the familiar click of heels behind her as the wail of police sirens begin to approach, and she steels herself as she turns to face Cat, standing less than a foot away and watching her shrewdly.

It’s the first time they’ve been face to face like this since Kara had fooled her, and she has to stop herself from shifting awkwardly under the heavy weight of Cat’s gaze, skin itching, sure that Cat’s going to see straight through her. She takes the opportunity to scan her gaze casually over Cat’s body, checking for scrapes or bruises, satisfied when she can’t see so much as a scratch.

“Is there something I can help you with, Miss Grant?” She asks when the seconds stretch into minutes without Cat saying a word.

“You can give me an exclusive interview on everything you’ve been up to the past few months.”

“I just saved your life, and you still want a favour?” Kara asks dryly, trying not to be affected by the dazzling smile Cat directs her way in response.

“It’ll improve your image,” Cat tells her seriously.

“I think, you know, _saving_ people does a good job of that by itself, don’t you?”

“Eh,” Cat shrugs. “It could use a little work. Please? Just one teeny interview. And then I won’t bother you for another four months.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Kara murmurs, too quiet for Cat to hear. “Okay, then. What do you want to know?”

“Ah, ah, ah, not here. This is _my_ exclusive, and you never know when prying ears are listening.” Kara shakes her head, but decides to humour her, even if it probably is a colossally bad idea. “Come back to the office?”

“I…” Kara trails off, not really sure how to refuse that but know that she _should_ , because being alone with Cat is going to make it really difficult to keep herself professional and to _not_ give away the fact that she would very, very much like to kiss her right now, to run her hands over her body and make sure that she really, truly was okay. “I don’t know, Miss Grant. I do have a city to keep an eye on.”

“It survived for years without a hero, it can spare you for an hour. I’ll make it worth your while.” Kara tells herself she’s imagining the suggestive lilt to Cat’s voice (she has to, or she’ll be far more affected by it than Supergirl should, because Supergirl did not know about all of the wonderful things Cat could do with her mouth and hands).

“Alright, fine. But only if we fly.” She watches the nervous look that flashes across Cat’s face curiously as she casts her eyes upwards towards the sky. “It’ll be quicker,” Kara points out.

“Very well,” Cat replies after a moment of deliberation, still looking a little apprehensive. Kara motions for Cat to lead the way out of the restaurant, trying not to smile as she picks her way delicately over shards of broken glass, deftly avoiding the police officers that swarm around the four suspects, all still out cold.

Once they’re outside Cat positions herself deliberately in-front of the camera of one of the numerous news crews that had appeared along with the police as she waits for Kara to join her, and she tries not to roll her eyes at Cat’s predictability as she steps close to her.

“Why do I think that if this is improving anyone’s image, it’s yours?” She asks dryly as Cat grins.

“Well, it has to be a mutually beneficial relationship, doesn’t it?” Cat replies smoothly as she sides her arms around Kara’s neck, gripping her tightly as Kara’s own arms wrap around Cat’s delicate waist. “Otherwise what’s the point?”

Kara chooses not to answer, instead pushing from the ground and lifting them into the air, trying to ignore the camera flashes that they leave in their wake. Cat doesn’t look down, her chin pressed firmly against Kara’s collarbone and eyes peering only over her shoulder as she steers them towards CatCo, and Kara thinks, as she allows herself to notice how tightly they’re holding onto one another, how closely they’re pressed together, that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

She manages to hold her concentration for long enough to get them onto the balcony of Cat’s office, letting out a quiet sign of relief as she sets Cat down on the ground and can step back, breathing in a large lungful of air as she puts some necessary distance between them.

“Drink?” Cat asks as she begins to head for the glass door, but Kara shakes her head.

“Probably not a great idea, what with the flying.” Cat acquiesces that with a slight inclination of her head, leaving Kara to take in the sight of National City whilst she disappears into her office. Kara thinks about one of the last times she had been out here, when Cat had demanded she remove her glasses and expose herself and she wonders if she’s done a good job of hiding as Cat returns with a different notebook, pen clutched tightly between her fingers as she settles into one of the chairs and motions for Kara to sit opposite her.

“So, Supergirl,” Cat begins, pen poised above the paper, looking every bit the hungry journalist searching for their first big scoop. “What’s new?”

Kara tries to keep things brief as she recaps the few big stories she knows have been printed about her in the past few months (it had driven Cat crazy that she couldn’t get an exclusive, and she knows that James had borne the brunt of that anger), but Cat keeps trying to pry and Kara finds herself choosing every word carefully, lest she accidentally let something slip that she shouldn’t.

It’s exhausting, and Kara’s glad when Cat seems content to call it a day, setting her notebook on the table between them. Kara takes that as her cue to leave and rises gracefully to her feet but she falters when Cat also stands, stepping forward so that they’re almost flush together.

“I never thanked you, for what you did down there.” Cat’s eyes are sincere as she gazes up at her and Kara thinks that she’s much too close, will be able to discern that they’re the exact same shade of the blue as the eyes of the assistant she’s been making out with lately.

“Just doing my job.” Kara’s a little amazed that her voice doesn’t shake, because Cat is standing so close, heat radiating between them and it would be so, so easy to just… reach out and pull her closer, pour out the worry and the panic that had been swirling in her chest ever since she’d noticed Cat at that restaurant but she doesn’t dare, doesn’t know if she can bear revealing herself to Cat after lying to her for so long.

“Still. Thank you.”

“I… I should really get going, Miss Grant, if you have everything you need from me?”

“There is… one more thing.” Kara looks at her curiously but Cat doesn’t move, just holds her gaze for one long moment before taking another step forward, reaching one hand up to cup the side of Kara’s face gently – she’s too surprised to move away, and lets out an undignified squeak as Cat leans up on her tiptoes to press their lips together.

Her hands find Cat’s hips and push her gently away, taking a step back herself to put some space between them, heart racing in her chest because what is she supposed to do _now_?

“Miss Grant, I’m not sure what - ”

“I know it’s you, Kara,” Cat cuts her off in a tired voice, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. “I don’t know how you pulled off that stunt the other month but I _know_. And if you want to lie to me and deny it again, then very well, I’ll pretend that you’ve got me fooled.” Kara realises in that moment that she’s been naïve – Cat is too smart, too shrewd, has probably seen through her this entire time. “But,” she continues as she sees Kara’ mouth open (she’s not entirely sure what she’s going to say, just that she has to say _something_ ), “you should know that my relationship with my ex-husband ended because of the secrets he was keeping from me.”

She understands the hidden message – if she lies and tries to convince Cat that Kara the assistant and Supergirl are not the same person, then she can kiss goodbye to whatever chance she might have had with Cat. She’s not entirely sure she’s ready for Cat to know her identity, but she does know that she’s not ready to give up on them before they even have a chance to begin.

“I’m sorry,” she begins after a few moments of loaded silence as she searches for the right words, Cat’s gaze heavy on her skin. “I’m sorry I lied to you but I… I didn’t want to lose this job, and when you told me that if I didn’t quit you’d fire me I… I panicked. I didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t know how to be able to stand not seeing you every day and maybe that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever head but I… I care about you, Cat. And I didn’t want to have to choose between this job and one of the most important people in my life.” Once she starts speaking the words don’t stop coming, and she can’t quite look Cat in the eye, terrified that she was saying too much and that her honesty would send Cat skittering away.

“Kara…” Cat begins, and when Kara dares to dart her eyes towards Cat’s face she swears she sees her eyes glistening with unshed tears before they’re hastily blinked away. “You could’ve _told_ me that. I was going to let you go because I couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to someone out there because I was busy making you run after me. It would’ve been selfish, for me to know who you were and still keep you by my side. I didn’t want you to stay out of some sense of obligation to me but I never wanted you to go. I just knew that it was the right thing to do.”

“And I didn’t get a say in it?”

“I didn’t think you’d make the right choice,” Cat answers honestly, and Kara looks away because she knows she’s right – she’d choose Cat every single time.

“Why now?” She knows that she’d never had Cat fooled, but she doesn’t understand why she’d waited so long before confronting her for the second time. “Why are you bringing this up again now?”

“Because somewhere along the way I…” Cat trails off with a sigh, glances away from Kara and casts her eyes down at the city glittering below them. “I fell in love with my assistant.” She says it quietly, but the words, to Kara, feel like a punch – she forgets how to breathe, feels like she’s been winded as she all but gapes at the side of Cat’s head. “And I never thought that you could ever feel the same,” she continues, and Kara almost scoffs because how could Cat believe that for a second? “But then I saw the way you looked at me that night after the award show and I wondered… I wondered if maybe there was a faint flicker of hope, after all. But I knew that nothing could ever truly happen whilst you were living two separate lives… so here we are.”

“Here we are,” Kara echoes, feeling, not for the first time when alone with Cat Grant, like she needs to pinch herself as an assurance that this isn’t all just a wonderful dream. “You’re not mad at me? For lying?”

“Mm, not right now.” Cat takes a deliberate step forward and Kara takes one back, and somehow she ends up pinned to the railing of the balcony by the solid weight of Cat’s body and she is definitely not complaining. “Later? Maybe. But right now I think there are much better ways to occupy our time than by arguing, don’t you?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then take me home.” Cat leans up to breathe the words into Kara’s ear, and even before she’s finished speaking Kara’s arms are wrapping around her waist and holding her close as she propels herself from the ground, the sound of Cat’s amused laughter ringing in her ears.

x-x-x

“How do you get this damn thing _off_?” Cat growls as her hands slide over Kara’s supersuit, searching desperately for a hidden zipper or button and Kara chuckles as she gently bats Cat’s hands away.

“Allow me,” she murmurs, taking a step back from Cat and slipping out of the suit using a burst of superspeed. The manoeuvre leaves her in nothing but a pair of matching underwear, and Kara swallows thickly at the way Cat’s hungry eyes rove her body, like she’s dying of starvation and Kara’s her next meal.

Cat’s dress had been yanked over her head on their way to her bedroom, lying in a crumpled heap somewhere in her hallway, and Kara itches to run her hands and mouth over every inch of the exposed skin before her until Cat’s left needy and desperate beneath her.

She curls her hands over Cat’s hips and pushes her backwards onto the bed, letting the other woman drag Kara down on-top of her. She slots a thigh between Cat’s legs as she leans down for a heated kiss, teeth and tongue clashing as Cat’s blunt nails drag roughly down Kara’s back until she’s flexing her fingers into the pliant flesh of Kara’s ass, encouraging her to grind against Cat’s thigh.

It leaves her aching and wanting, and she nips a heated path of kisses down the side of Cat’s neck as she slips one hand beneath her back to flick open the clasp of her bra. Cat abandons her hold on Kara’s ass to instead fist her hands in blonde hair as Kara’s mouth sucks a mark against the side of one of Cat’s breasts before she drags a straining nipple between her teeth.

She has her weight braced on one arm laid flat beside Cat’s head, but she lets her free hand run down to Cat’s thigh as she arches into Kara, the heat of her sex searing against Kara’s thigh with every thrust.

She shifts so that she’s kneeling between Cat’s thighs when her movements grow more desperate, raising her head to meet Cat’s lips in another frantic kiss as she slides her palm over the quivering muscles of Cat’s stomach and down, until her fingertips are brushing against the lace barrier of Cat’s underwear – it’s there she hesitates, until Cat’s hand tightens in her hair, yanking her head back roughly.

“Don’t tease,” she murmurs against Kara’s ear before she takes the lobe between her teeth, teasing with her tongue and Kara groans, pushing Cat’s underwear down her thighs, sure her fingers are trembling as she brushes past a patch of soft curls before she’s pressing Cat open, groaning again at the feeling of her, hot and wet and slick beneath her fingertips.

Cat’s mouth is still at her ear, and she hears clearly the way her breath stutters at the first tentative touch of Kara’s fingers accompanied by a spike in her heartbeat and Kara lifts her head, admiring the way Cat has hers thrown back to bare her throat, eyes squeezed tightly shut and a light sheen of sweat shimmering on her skin.

Kara thinks that Cat has never looked so beautiful, watching with rapt attention the way that Cat’s lips part in a quiet moan as Kara teases at her clit with tight circles, and the way Cat arches into her touch as she presses inside of her with first one, then two fingers, steals the breath from her lungs.

Her mouth returns to Cat’s neck as she starts to work her fingers, curling them in a way that has Cat clutching at her shoulders, nails digging in hard enough to split the skin if Kara were human. Kara has little interest in drawing this out – there will be time for that later, and right now she just really, really wants to see Cat come completely undone, so she angles her hand so that her thumb presses against Cat’s clit with every thrust and it isn’t long before she feels Cat start to clench around her fingers, trying to draw her deeper as she grazes her teeth against the pulse jumping in Cat’s neck.

A hand tangles in Kara’s hair to drag her upwards for a messy kiss, Cat breathing Kara’s name against her lips as she comes and Kara helps her ride out the waves with Cat panting against her mouth. She doesn’t give Cat long to recover – now that she knows what Cat feels like around her, she wants to know the taste of her, too, so she pulls her fingers away and shuffles her way down Cat’s body until she’s kneeling between her thighs, Cat’s hand still threaded through her hair.

She starts by turning her head and pressing an open-mouthed kiss against Cat’s thigh, feeling the flesh shiver as she nips with her teeth before soothing the sting with her tongue, Cat arching against her with a breathless moan.

She curls her hands around both of Cat’s thighs to spread them further before ducking her head and running her tongue the length of Cat’s sex, making Cat shudder beneath her as Kara revels in the way Cat feels against her mouth.

Cat throws one leg over Kara’s shoulder, heel digging into her back as she begins to explore every inch of Cat with her tongue, finding the spots that make her arch against her or have her fingers tightening to hold her close. She waits until Cat is breathless and panting above her, wetness coating her chin before she focuses on her clit, drawing it into her mouth and circling with her tongue until Cat quivers around her, thighs pressing tightly against either side of Kara’s head as she succumbs to her second orgasm of the night.

When she’s released, Cat’s legs falling limply back to the bed, Kara pulls away and wipes at her face with the back of her hand before kissing a slow path up Cat’s body. Cat kisses her when Kara’s in reach, and Kara groans as she tastes herself on Kara’s tongue.

They kiss slowly for several long moments, Kara listening to Cat’s pounding heart begin to slow, before she feels a warm hand sliding from her hips and over her ribs to cup one of her breasts, Cat trapping her nipple between two deft fingers.

There’s a thigh between her legs and Kara arches against it eagerly, knowing that she’s soaked through her underwear from the sight, sound and feeling of Cat coming undone beneath her and welcoming the much-needed friction, trying to relieve the ache of desire that pools low in her stomach.

She stops breathing when she feels Cat’s hands tugging at her underwear, pulling away from her mouth to shuffle out of them and throw them to one side, and she buries her head into the side of Cat’s neck at the first confident touch of Cat’s fingers against her, panting against her skin.

“Look at me,” Cat murmurs as she slides two fingers inside of her easily, and Kara rocks against Cat’s hand as she raises her head, nearly coming on the spot from the look in Cat’s eye, pupils blown wide with desire.

Cat’s other hand curls around the back of her neck and pulls her down for another kiss, but when she adds a third finger Kara can do little more than pant against her mouth, too overcome from the feeling of being so wonderfully stretched and filled by Cat’s talented fingers.

The room is quiet aside from the sound of their laboured breathing and the wet sound of Cat’s fingers moving inside of her, and when Cat angles her hand so that the palm of her hand drags against Kara’s clit she comes with a quiet cry smothered by Cat’s lips, her hands, splayed on either side of Cat’s head, digging into the mattress so hard that Kara wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves dents in her wake.

When she feels like she can breathe normally again she shifts to one side and collapses on the bed beside Cat, feeling more than a little empty as Cat’s fingers slide out of her – when she finally opens her eyes it’s to be confronted to the sight of Cat licking them clean and she swears she nearly comes again because god, that’s probably the hottest thing she’s ever seen.

There’s a predatory glint in Cat’s eye as she arches forward and presses Kara onto her back, swinging a leg over the Kryptonian’s hip so that she’s straddling her waist. Kara admires the view as Cat gazes down at her like she doesn’t even know where to start and thinks that it’s going to be a very long and enjoyable night for the both of them.

x-x-x

It’s many hours (and orgasms) later before they collapse back beside one another, sweaty and sated, Kara so exhausted that she doesn’t even know if she’ll be able to wake up in the morning – or later in the morning, she thinks with a wince as she notices there’s a light creeping into the room through Cat’s shades that suggest that the sun is beginning to rise – but whatever.

It had been worth it.

So, so, so, _so_ worth it.

“If you start snoring,” Cat mumbles as she tugs the covers over her, rolling to face Kara but keeping a few inches of space between them in an effort to cool their overheated skin, her voice heavy with sleep. “I will kick you out of this bed.”

“I don’t snore,” Kara huffs, even as there’s a soft smile settling across her face at how freaking adorable Cat looks like this, boneless and half-asleep.

“Well, then we won’t have an issue then, will we?” Kara just hums in reply, knowing that Cat’s only a few minutes away from falling into a deep sleep – sure enough, it’s not long before her face relaxes completely and her breathing turns heavy, Kara finding the sound incredibly soothing.

Kara herself doesn’t fall asleep for a long time, content to stare up at the ceiling listening to the sound of Cat’s steady breathing beside her. She freezes when, sometime later, Cat shifts, rolling onto her side and throwing an arm over Kara’s stomach and tangling their legs together, murmuring something in her sleep. Kara only breathes when it’s clear that Cat isn’t moving anytime soon, shifting to wrap one arm around Cat’s shoulders and drawing aberrant patterns on the skin of her back.

She can still scarcely believe that she’s here right now, in Cat’s bed with the woman herself curled around her after a night of incredible, mind-blowing sex, but she knows that, no matter how hard parts of the last few months have been, she wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

She doesn’t know what this thing with Cat is the start of, and has even less idea where it might be end, but she does know that will Cat Grant by her side she can face anything the world decides to throw her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it - I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Thank you for all the comments/kudos/love for this story <3  
> Hit me up on tumblr if you want (I'm ofendlesswonder on there, too) to see me flailing over these two some more, and I'm sure I'll be back with another story about them soon.


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